Dividing the household?
Hearing these words, no small number of those present fell silent for a good long while — yet from the look in the eyes of those uncles, one could see plainly that their hearts had been moved. Were it the Li family of before, leaning upon the T2 Tibetan Mastiff, then they would absolutely never have divided the household. But now, the arms-purchase order was on the very brink of being breached. Never mind the T2 Tibetan Mastiff — even the whole of the Li family estate might not be kept safe. To divide the household now — these people might yet be able to hold on to some industries of their own. Though it might not be so flourishing as in the earlier days of the Northern Goose Group, at the least they could still go on living a comparatively well-off life. They wouldn't be dragged down into the abyss along with Li Yaqi.
The head of the Li family looked at his own daughter; he made to speak, then held back. Were it any time before, he would never in ten thousand years have divided the household. But now, having witnessed with his own eyes the coldness and the mockery of this pack of relatives of his, the heart he'd once held so ardently for the family had gone cold — cold as ice.
"Yaqi, ah… it's not that we uncles are casting blame on you; it's truly this present state of affairs that…" One uncle, putting on a show of kindliness, said helplessly.
But the head of the Li family's younger brother — that small-uncle who'd been pointing at the Li family head and dressing him down just now — stepped straight forth and said, "Good! This is something you, Li Yaqi, said of your own accord — it's not us forcing you. Dividing the household is no problem; but the former industries of the Northern Goose Group…"
When the Northern Goose Group had first gotten its start, it had leaned upon some other industries; the sector of starship technology was merely something Li Yaqi had founded over these past few years. Now the starship-technology sector had become a scalding-hot potato — but those old family foundations of the Northern Goose Group, those they were, still, keeping their minds fixed upon.
"Apart from starship-technology manufacturing, I don't want any of the rest — not one bit!" Li Yaqi said solemnly. Set against the starship trade, those old odds and ends didn't amount to so much as a single hair off nine oxen. To be able, in the span of a bare year, to come by an order deposit of over 10 billion star coins? By all estimates, it would take a decade and more of time to walk one's way to such a step.
"Good! Now let's sign the contract!" The small-uncle was, at this moment, all eyebrows dancing and spirits flying — wishing nothing more than to sever, on the spot and outright, all relation with Li Yaqi's family. With this small-uncle taking the lead, the others were, naturally, unwilling to fall behind either; though a few of them, on the surface, still put on a show of solicitous concern for Li Yaqi, when it came to signing, every last one of them was in dread of ending up at the back of the pack.
That electronic contract was filled from end to end with the names of the Li clan; Li Yaqi swept an eye over it. Nearly every last one had signed.
Li Yaqi gave a self-mocking little laugh.
She and her father — for the sake of the Li family, all these years, just what had they been after? Nothing but the raising-up of this pack of white-eyed wolves!
Li Yaqi, without hesitation, signed her own name upon it. Then she walked over to her father, who sat in his chair, having never once risen. She leaned in close to her father's ear, and, in a tone firm and unshakeable, said, "Dad, I spoke to you before about this matter of dividing the household. At the time, you told me not to bring it up again — that the Li family must not be divided. But now you've seen it for yourself: you don't wish to divide this Li family, yet they, one and all, can hardly wait to divide this household and draw a clean line severing themselves from us. This tie of blood — is there still any need to preserve it? Today you sign your name to this, and I promise you: I will, without fail, make our Northern Goose rise again from the eastern hills, and make them regret it until their very bowels turn green."
The head of the Li family looked at his daughter, and then looked again at those relatives, uncles and nephews of his.
"So be it, so be it. Since you all think this way, then let this household be divided. From this day forward, the four of us in our family have not the least entanglement with the likes of you any longer. You walk your broad sunlit road; we'll cross our single-log bridge." The head of the Li family signed his name upon the electronic contract.
With this, the dividing of the household was officially complete. This electronic contract — one copy to each hand. It signified that the Northern Goose Group, once at the very summit of its enterprise, was now utterly divided.
"There's one more matter — as required within the contract. From this day forward, this name of Northern Goose belongs to us; you are not permitted to use it. If there's nothing further, then you'll pardon us for not playing the host." Li Yaqi issued the order to see the guests out.
As for this signboard of Northern Goose, this pack of uncles naturally paid it no mind. Without any reminder from Li Yaqi, they'd have drawn a clean line themselves. Right now, this Northern Goose was a scalding-hot potato indeed.
Soon enough, the meeting room broke up. Those uncles set off to carve up their own interests.
"To think — the Li family, managed for so many years, would, of all things, scatter to the winds in my hands." The head of the Li family heaved a long sigh; sitting there in his chair, he seemed, in a single stroke, to have aged some decades.
Li Yaqi said resolutely, at his side, "Father, set your heart at ease. This crisis, this time, I will deal with and set to rights. Our Northern Goose is not one to topple just because someone says it will topple."
"Is it that mysterious collaborator behind you, about to make his move to help you?" The head of the Li family looked at his own daughter. He did know that his daughter was in cooperation with a mysterious person — that that T2 Tibetan Mastiff had, likewise, been provided by that mysterious person. But every merchant has secrets of their own, and so the head of the Li family had asked no further.
"More or less. Rest assured — this arms-purchase order, this time, we will not overrun the deadline!" Li Yaqi said with confidence.
"I'm old in years; the matters of the business had already, of late, been rather beyond my strength. Just as well that I take this very chance to retire, and keep your mother the more company. This Northern Goose — I hand it over, then, to you entirely," The head of the Li family said, looking at his daughter; he had resolved to withdraw into the shade.
Li Yaqi looked at her father — grown, all at once, so much more careworn and weathered; the matter of the Li family's division had, after all, dealt her father a blow of no small size. And she did not refuse her father's notion of retiring. Once she'd dealt with the crisis at hand, she could then, when the time came, invite her father back out of the mountains — that would be that.
Li Yaqi returned to her own office; from here on out, she needed to give it her all. Lord Zhao Chen had arranged the plan for her, but she still needed, all the same, to ensure that every link in it proceeded without a hitch. Things such as the raw-material supply, the arrangement of the technical personnel, and so forth. Because it was in star-port workshops that the T2 Iron Hammers were to be built, this build cost would, too, see a certain degree of rise. The half-year rental fee alone for those near 500 build-workshops needed close to 300 million star coins. Beyond that were the costs of the technical personnel's mobilization, and the raw materials' mobilization, and the like. And, on top of that, the re-procurement of the raw materials needed for building the T2 Tibetan Mastiffs.
Li Yaqi busied herself a good long while, establishing a detailed plan, and then cast an eye at the time. She'd already worked 10 hours and more without a break.
Li Yaqi stretched herself out lazily, and, in this span of rest, opened up the holographic projection of the T2 Iron Hammer, admiring this interstellar industrial ship before her eyes. It had to be said — looking upon the interstellar warships Lord Zhao Chen had given, every last class of them was so exquisitely wrought. She truly couldn't fathom just how that man went about developing them.
Li Yaqi raised her head, gazing out at the star-strewn universe beyond the transparent floor-to-ceiling window.
"The Hurricane Conglomerate…" Li Yaqi clenched her fists; if this were truly the Hurricane Conglomerate's doing, then she, Li Yaqi, would, without fail, pay it back a thousandfold!
From this point on, throughout the North Wind Star Region — and, indeed, the star regions round about, the Chu River Star Region included — a great many star-port workshops came to be rented on long terms. Great quantities of raw materials and technical personnel arrived one after another.
And at the same time, the news of the Northern Goose Group's splitting apart, too, made its way out.